Foundation Fights For Starbucks Workers Seeking to Oust Union
The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, July/August 2023 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
Majority of workers at flagship NYC Starbucks Roastery want decertification vote
NEW YORK, NY – Union bosses and their bought-and-paid-for political allies have been touting Starbucks as the latest and greatest frontier in union organizing. But, as soon as legally permitted after several high-profile Starbucks unionization efforts, workers are already seeking to vote out union officials.
Kevin Caesar, an employee of the high-end Starbucks Reserve Roastery location in Manhattan, sought out Foundation legal aid this May. He sought assistance in submitting a petition backed by a majority of his colleagues to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a vote to remove, or “decertify,” Starbucks Workers United (SBWU), and their puppet-masters at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), from the Roastery. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), workers must wait one year after a union is installed before seeking to remove it, meaning Caesar and his colleagues essentially filed their decertification petition as soon as allowed by the law.
“We have seen our workplace both with and without the union. We believe that the union is looking out for itself more than it is looking out for Starbucks partners, who do not want forced dues and who can advocate for ourselves,” stated Caesar about why he wants to be free of the union.
“That is why a majority of us have decided we would be better off without the union. The fact that the union officials have forced us to go through this decertification process despite the majority of workers stating they do not want to be represented by this union shows how little regard the union has for the will of the workers,” he added. “We call on union officials to respect our rights and not attempt to fight this vote.”
With the petition filed, the NLRB should now promptly schedule a secret ballot election to determine whether a majority of workers want to end union officials’ power to impose a contract, including forced dues, on the workers. However, SBWU officials have already announced they will seek to block the vote, a matter Foundation attorneys quickly opposed in a brief to the NLRB.
Worker Dissatisfaction with Unions Growing Nationwide
The Starbucks workers are just the latest example of growing dissatisfaction with union officials’ so-called “representation.” Currently, worker requests for Foundation aid in decertifying an unwanted union are at an all-time high. NLRB statistics similarly show a 20% increase in decertification petitions last year versus 2021.
Unfortunately, the NLRB’s union decertification process is prone to union boss-created roadblocks, which can impact the Starbucks workers if union officials plot to stay in power regardless of workers’ wishes. Foundation-backed NLRB reforms from 2020, collectively known as the “Election Protection Rule,” have made it somewhat easier for workers to escape unwanted union “representation,” by eliminating the most egregious “blocking charge” tactics used by union bosses to delay or stop decertification elections entirely. “Blocking charges” are unverified union boss allegations of employer misconduct, often unrelated to workers’ desire to decertify.
Currently, the Biden-appointed NLRB majority is conducting rulemaking to roll back these protections and make it much harder for workers to decertify a union.
Foundation Provides Legal Notice to Starbucks Employees
After being in contact with multiple Starbucks workers interested in how to resist union control, the Foundation issued a legal notice informing employees of the coffee chain of their right to petition for a vote to oust an unpopular union.
“No worker anywhere should be forced under so-called union ‘representation’ they oppose,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Starbucks workers around the nation that fall victim to union tyranny should know they can turn to Foundation staff attorneys for assistance.”
“Foundation staff attorneys are now fighting to ensure that these workers are not denied the vote that they are entitled to under federal law to remove union control they oppose,” continued Mix. “Union bosses should not be allowed to keep their grip on power simply by disenfranchising those they claim to ‘represent.’”
Starbucks Worker’s Brief: Proceed with Vote to Remove Union Opposed by Majority of Workers
Labor Board asked to reject union-backed move to disenfranchise majority of workers who petitioned for decertification election
New York, NY (June 2, 2023) – National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys have filed a brief with National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 2 asking the NLRB not to dismiss the worker-led decertification effort. The brief is part of the case that began when Manhattan Starbucks Roastery worker Kevin Caesar filed a decertification petition with the NLRB seeking a secret-ballot election to end union officials’ so-called “representation.”
Caesar’s petition, which was filed on May 9, has the support of a majority of his coworkers who want to remove Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) from their workplace. Caesar is receiving free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.
“We have seen our workplace both with and without the union. We believe that the union is looking out for itself more than it is looking out for Starbucks partners, who do not want forced dues and can advocate for ourselves. That is why a majority of us have decided we would be better off without the union. The fact that the union officials have forced us to go through this decertification process despite the majority of workers stating they do not want to be represented by this union shows how little regard the union has for the will of the workers. We call on union officials to respect our rights and not attempt to fight this vote,” stated Caesar.
Under federal law, workers can trigger an NLRB-supervised decertification election with the signatures of 30% or more of the employees in a workplace. Caesar and his Roastery co-workers’ petition meets the criteria.
However, on May 18, 2023, NLRB Region 2 officials ordered each party to file briefs to determine whether or not to process the decertification petition by the Starbucks Roastery employees. The order suggests that unfair labor practice charge allegations filed by Workers United, an affiliate of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), could stop the petition from being processed. Such claims are often filed with the purpose of completely derailing employee decertification efforts, like the one taking place at the Starbucks Roastery.
In response to this order, Caesar’s Foundation staff attorneys filed a brief, emphasizing the wishes of the employees to continue with the decertification process and the importance of not trapping workers under monopoly union representation that lacks the support of a majority of the workers. This is a fundamental principle of the National Labor Relations Act that the NLRB is charged with enforcing.
“The policy of the Act is not to promote unionism per se; rather, it is to protect employees in their choice of representative,” the brief states. “Dismissing the decertification petition would disregard Petitioner’s and his colleagues protected statutory right to not associate with a union and benefit the Union at the expense of employee rights. Petitioner’s efforts to collect signatures and secure the backing of a majority of his colleagues on his showing of interest should not be so easily disregarded.”
The filing also describes the workers’ reasoning for wanting to exercise their right to remove the union: “Caesar filed a petition to decertify the Union. His petition was supported by a showing of interest indicating a majority of employees no longer want Union representation. Caesar does want to be represented by the Union because, in his opinion, the Union is self-interested, divisive, and unfocused on New York Roastery employees. He does not want to be forced to pay dues and prefers to advocate for himself, rather than have a third party do so.”
The decertification petition at Starbucks Roastery is just the latest employee decertification effort at Starbucks. In just two weeks, three different Starbucks locations in New York filed decertification petitions. Foundation staff attorneys also represent the petitioner in the Buffalo case.
The Foundation has also issued a legal notice to all Starbucks employees, offering free legal aid to any worker who may be interested in decertifying SBWU at their workplace and informs them of their rights in the workplace.
“If union officials cared about the actual wishes of rank-and-file Starbucks Roastery team members they would not be seeking to disenfranchise them by stopping a vote from taking place,” commented National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “The workers who oppose the union did nothing wrong, and the NLRB should reject attempts to strip them of their right to vote the union out.”
